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patent Roll 6 Richard II

INSPEXIMUS of a petition [in French] that the prelates, magnates and commons of the K.'s land of Ire. in the K.'s parliament summoned and held at Dublin on the next Monday after Holy Trinity last [16 June 1382] caused to be made and to be displayed and read out, in these words:

'The prelates lords and commons of the land of Ire. were summoned by writs to be at a parliament at Dublin in the quindene of Trinity 5 Ric. II [16 June 1382]. On that day and place, the prelates, lords and commons assembled and were informed that the K.'s Lt [Roger Mortimer, e. March and Ulster] was so ill [tenu de malady] that he could not be present in person to hold the parliament. Consequently, it seemed that this assembly cannot be properly called a parliament; because in all times within memory and from the conquest of that land there had been seen no parliament which had been held without the personal presence of the chief governor [principal governour de la terre] for the time being. And because to hold a parliament contrary to that form without the presence of the chief governor of the land might in various and many ways in time to come be to the prejudice, damage, burden and disherison of prelates, their successors and their churches, and to the lords and their heirs, and all the said community [la communalté], they made this their protest that did not wish, nor would they accept or assent to this manner of […] holding parliaments without the presence of the chief governor of the land lest it be put or treated as an example or used in the future for the said reasons […] Nevertheless, the said prelates lords and commons—out of reverence to the K. and the present lord Lt and 'that it imports the safety of his estate and a notable or urgent cause being given for the absence of the lord Lt and for the great necessity, perils, losses and mischief in which the said land is placed'1—agree and consent that this present assembly shall be held for a parliament and all matters to be done, treated and agreed there shall be held and established according to the tenor of the writs made concerning this, nevertheless demanding and saving to themselves, their successors, their heirs and the said community their franchises, usages and liberties and their said protest, and seeking and requiring that this their protest should be enrolled in the chancery and put on record in the chief bench of the K., and that an exemplification should be made concerning this under the K.'s g.s., in witness of the aforesaid matters for times to come.'

INSPEXIMUS also of the endorsement of that petition, in these words:

'It is agreed by the K.'s council that this petition with their protest shall be enrolled and exemplified according to the purport of that petition, saving always the right of the K. in times to come, and his prerogative.'

EXEMPLIFICATION of that petition and endorsement, by advice of the K.'s council in Ire., at the request of the prelates, magnates and commons.

Attested:

Roger, son and heir of Edmund Mortimer, late earl of March and Ulster, Lt

1 At this point there is a lacuna in the transcript used by Richardson and Sayles; the words in quotation marks are taken directly from Betham's abstract in English (Betham, Const. Eng. & early parl. Ire., p. 330).

This glossary is by no means comprehensive. Readers may also wish to consult standard references books such as Joseph Byrne, Byrne’s dictionary of local Irish History from the earliest times to c.1900 (Cork, 2004); P. G. Osborn, Osborn’s concise law dictionary, ed. Sheila Bone (London, 2001).

Abbreviations

AN = Anglo-Norman

Ir. = Irish

Lat. = Latin

ME = Middle English

OED = Oxford English Dictionary

Term

Explanation

advowson

The right of patronage or presentation to a church benefice.

allocate, writ of

A writ authorizing allowance to be made by the officers of the Ex. of a specified amount: often this amount is to be off-set against the debts owed to the K. by the beneficiary.

alterage

A form of affinity proscribed in late medieval Ireland between the Irish and the English, whereby a man stood sponsor for a child at baptism; (also) gossipred.

assize

Technical term for legal proceedings or various kinds. See mort d’ancestor, novel disseisin.

avener [Lat. avarius]

provider of oats, esp. for the household of the K. or his chief governor

avoirdupois

Miscellaneous merchandise sold by weight.

bonnaght [Ir. buannacht]

The billeting of mercenaries or servants.

cask

See tun.

certiorari, writ of

Letters close issued by the K. to his officers commanding them to supply information to him concerning a specified matter, normally by searching the records.

chattels

Property, goods, money: as opposed to real property (land).

dicker [Lat. dacra]

A measure of 10 hides.

dower

Portion (one third) of a deceased husband’s estate which the law allows to his widow for her life.

escheat

The reversion of land to the lord of the fee to the crown on failure of heirs of the owner or on his outlawry.

extent

A survey and valuation of property, esp. one made by royal inquisition.

falding [Ir. fallaing]

A kind of coarse woollen cloth produced in Ireland; the mantle or cloak made from the same.

fee-farm

A fixed annual rent payable to the K. by chartered boroughs.

fotmel [Lat. fotmellum]

A measure of lead.

engrossment

Technical term: the action of writing out, for instance patent letters and charters; (also) the documents thus written out.

enrolment

Technical term: the action of recording in the records of the K., esp. the registering of a deed, memorandum, recognizance; (also) the specific item or record thus enrolled.

hanaper

A repository for the keeping of money. The ‘clerk of the hanaper in chancery’ was the chancery official responsible for the receipt of fines for the issue, engrossment and ensealing of writs, patents and charters issued by the chancery.

herberger [Lat. herbergerius, hospitator]

One sent on before to purvey lodgings for an army, a royal train (OED).

galangal [AN galyngale]

The aromatic rhizome of certain Asian plants of the genera Alpinia and Kaempferia, of the ginger family, used in cookery and herbal medicine; (also) any of these plants (OED).

generosus [Lat.]

Term designating social status: translated as ‘gentleman’.

king's widow [Lat. vidua regis]

The widow of a tenant in chief: so called because whe was not allowed to marry a second time without royal licence.

knights’ fees

Units of assessment of estates in land. Originally a single knight’s fee was the amount of land for which the military service of one knight (=knight service) was required by the crown. ‘Fee’ derives from the Latin feudum, which in other contexts translated as ‘fief’. In practice the descent of landed estates meant that many knights’ fees came to be subdivided and, in the later Middle Ages, personal service was frequently commuted to money payments (=scutage).

liberate, writ of

A chancery writ issued to the treasurer and chamberlains of the Ex. authorizing them to make payment of a specified amount, often the annual fees, wages and rewards of the K.’s officers.

linch [Lat. lincia]

A measure of tin.

livery

The delivery of seisin, or possession, of an estate hitherto held in the K.’s hand, for instance when a minor reaches the age of majority.

mainprize

Legal term: the action of undertaking to stand surety (=‘mainpernor’) for another person; the action of making oneself legally responsible for the fulfilment of a contract or undertaking by another person (OED).

mass [Lat. messa]

A standard measure of metal.

messuage

A portion of land occupied, or intended to be occupied, as the site for a dwelling house; (also) a dwelling house together with outbuildings and the adjacent land assigned to its use (OED).

mort d’ancestor, assize of [Lat. assisa mortis antecessoris]

A legal process to recover land of which the plaintiff’s ancestor (father, mother, uncle, aunt, brother sister, nephew or niece) died seised (=in possession), possession of which was since taken by another person.

nolumus, clause of [Lat. cum clausula nolumus]

A standard clause inserted especially in letters of protection by which pleas and suits are delayed for a specified period of time.

novel disseisin, assize of [Lat. assisa nove disseisine]

A legal process to recover land from which the plaintiff claims to have been dispossessed (=disseised).

pensa

See wey.

piece [L. pecia]

A standard quantity of merchandise.

pendent seal

Seal hanging from engrossed letters patent attached to a tongue or tag of parchment.

perpresture

An illegal encroachment upon royal property.

plica

A fold along the foot of engrossed letters patent and charters to create a double thickness of parchment, used for attaching the ‘great seal pendent’ to the letters. An incision was made in the plica and through which a tag of parchment was attached. A wax impression of a seal was then affixed to the tag.

protection

An act of grace by the K., granted by chancery letters, by which the recipient is to be free from suits at law for a specified term; granted especially to persons crossing overseas or otherwise out of reach of the courts in the K.’s service.

quare impedit, writ of

An action brought to recover the advowson of a benefice, brought by the patron against the bishop or other person hindering the presentation.

scutage

The commutation of personal military service to the crown for a money payment. Normally called ‘royal service’ in Ireland.

seisin

Formal legal possession of land.

sendal [Lat. cendallum; ME cendal]

A thin rich silken material (OED).

stallage [Lat. stallagium, estallagium]

Payment for a market stall.

tun [Lat. dolium]

A large cask or barrel, esp. of wine.

valettus

A term designating social status: translated ‘yeoman’.

Vidua Regis [Lat.]

See King's widow.

volumus, clause of [Lat. cum clausula volumus]

A standard clause inserted esp. in letters of protection by which pleas and suits are delayed for a specified period of time. In full the clause runs: volumus quod interim sit quietus de omnibus placitis et querelis (=we wish that meanwhile he be quit of all pleas and plaints).

waif

A piece of property which is found ownerless and which, if unclaimed within a fixed period after due notice given, falls to the lord.

waivery [AN weiverie]

The technical term for proceedings of outlawry in the case of women.

wey [Lat. pensa, peisa, pisa]

A standard of dry-goods weight.

worsted [ME wyrstede]

A woollen fabric or stuff made from well-twisted yarn spun of long-staple wool combed to lay the fibres parallel (OED).

writ [Lat. brevis]

Letters close containing commands by the K. to certain specified persons, esp. royal officers. Returnable writs, which were not normally enrolled in the chancery rolls, were to be returned by the officer to chancery with details of the actions taken by the officer in response to the contents. See also allocate, certiorari, liberate.

GRANT to John Brit of custody of the purparty of Richard Lenfaunt, cousin and one of the heirs of Miles Courcy dcd, who held in chief, Richard being a minor in the K.'s wardship, both of the manor of Rynron with the appurtenances and of other lands [etc.] of which Miles was seised in his demesne as of fee when he died, in the K.'s hand for partition among Richard and his co-heirs before Roger Hakenshaw, formerly escheator of Edward III, made in the following way, while it remains in the K.'s hand because of the minority of the heir, paying 29s 1½d p.a.